Russia’s Participation in the 8th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov attended the 8th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit in Brussels on October 4-5.

One of the main events of the summit was the official formalization of the accession of Russia, and also Australia and New Zealand to this association.

The ASEM 8 Chair's Statement and the ASEM 8 Declaration on strengthening the efficiency of global economic governance reflected the agreed approaches of member states to topical issues on the international agenda – overcoming the effects of the global financial and economic crisis; sustainable development; global and regional issues; people-to-people contacts; and the main areas for the further improvement of ASEM activities.

Russia's accession to ASEM is evidence of the growth of the international prestige of our country. The Russian side intends to actively participate in the work of this forum and thus contribute to the realization of the chief objective of ASEM – the strengthening of mutual understanding and partnership between Asia and Europe.

On the sidelines of the Brussels meeting, Sergey Lavrov held short bilateral conversations with leaders and foreign ministers of a number of ASEM member states.